Attache case-portable bar combination



Oct. 17, R YOUNG ATTACHIE] CASE-PORTABLE BAR COMBINATION INVENTOR. JESSER YOUNG BY ATTOPNEMS Filed Dec. 20, 1965 United States Patent 3,347,346ATTACHE CASE-PORTABLE BAR COMBINATION Jesse R. Young, Hawthorne, Califi,assignor to A & J Manufacturing Company Industries, Inc., a corporationof California Filed Dec. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 514,810 6 Claims. (Cl.190-42) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combination attach-briefcase whichalso includes a beverage storage and serving capability. The beveragehandling portion is removable from the attach case but may be used incooperation therewith whereby when the case is opened the beverage unitcontaining a plurality of beverage bottles may be pivoted upright and arigid front closure panel may be folded forwardly resting on the sideWalls of the attach case body to provide level support therefor. Thebeverage unit may be left flat when the case is opened and provide arigid fiat work surface as a portable desk.

This invention relates to carrying cases genera-11y of the character ofluggage and more particularly to such cases having the form of attachcases and to the combination therewithin of a beverage storage carryingand servin cabinet.

Although the present invention finds particularly useful application inthe field indicated above, and although in the cause of clarity andbrevity of presentation, much of the following discussion anddescription of examples of the invention are directed theretoward, it isto be understood that the advantages of the invention are equally Wellmanifest in other fields where it may be desirable to store, carry andotherwise handle or dispense such goods.

Many traveling people, particularly businessmen, find it highlydesirable as Well as convenient, economic, and useful to carry with themthe liquor ingredients for cocktails and other drinks, often, but notnecessarily alcoholic, when traveling away from home. The beverages arethen served after business conferences or in the relaxing privacy of thetravelers room during leisure time.

If, on the contrary, the beverages must be ordered and be served by awaiter, the cordial and relaxing atmosphere otherwise existent may belost or otherwise destoyed by the necessity of going to a servinglounge, by the delay in service, by the loss in part, of a host-guestrelation, and by the inherent intrusion by an outside person.

In the past, it has typically been possible for one to carry a singlebottle of beverage ingredient; but, at best, it was awkward andinconvenient, and the selection of possible drinks was inherently verylimited. Furthermore, if one were to carry a plurality of differentbottles in addition to his briefcase, it became extremely awkward and soinconvenient as to be totally impractical.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide acombination portable bar-attach case which is not subject to thelimitations and disadvantages of the techniques and structures of theprior art.

It is another object to provide a combination serving or dispensingcabinet and attach case which permits, in one attach type case, aconveniently removable storing and carrying capability for goods andmerchandise combined with a storing and carrying capability, in thenature of a briefcase, for documents.

It is another object'to provide such a combination the liquor carryingand serving capability of which is unobvious when it is desired toutilize the structure as a brief or attach or samples case.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a combination thedifferent components of which cooperate to function as a portable,serving bar when opened and placed upon a table or other horizontalsurface.

It is another object to provide such a combination the liquor carryingand serving compartments of which may be removed to form an attach case.

It is another object to provide such a system which includes a readilyremovable briefcase for the carrying and handling of documents and otherpaper work.

It is another object to provide such structure which serves also as asubstantial, portable working and writin desk top.

Briefly, these and other objects of this invention are achieved inaccordance with the structural aspect of one example of the inventionwhich includes an outer, attach type case having a lower or base memberand an upper or top member, the two being hingedly interconnected alonga common rear edge and having a latching means and a carrying handle ona front edge for respectively, securing the two component parts orportions together into an integral case and for carrying the same, in asubstantially conventional manner. 7

A beverage storing and dispensing cabinet unit is disposed within thecase and its sidewalls are pivotally affixed, removably, to those of thecabinet unit whereby the cabinet unit may lie flat within the bottomportion of the case for storage and carrying or may be pivoted degreesto stand up therewithin for serving. The cabinet unit includes, in thisexample, a divided frontal closure panel disposed over a compartment andbottle storage interior cabinet portion. The two portions of the closurepanel include a lower portion afiixed rigidly to the cabinet unit and anupper portion which is hingedly connected to the lower portion such thatwhen the unit is in its upright disposition, the upper portion of theclosure panel folds downwardly forwardly and rests supportinglyf-rom itshinge and across the front edge of the lower portion of the outer caseto form a cantilevered serving shelf in front of the exposed bottles ina manner described more fully herein-below.

A removable briefcase is in this example afiixed within the top portionof the case such that when the case is open, with the cabinet unit lyingflat and horizontally within the bottom or base part thereof, thebriefcase is exposed and excessible for use while the rear panel memberof the cabinet unit forms a horizontal substantial desk-, top worksurface.

Further details of these and other novel features and their operation aswell as additional objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent and be best understood from a consideration of the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which ispresented by way of an illustrated example only and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an. example of a portable-bar attachcase combination, constructed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention, showing the combination in an openedbriefcase-working desk top configuration;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the structure of FIGURE 1 shown in anopen, beverage serving configoration;

FIGURE 3, FIGURE 4 and FIGURE 5 are each perspective views of aseparated portion of the structure of FIGURE'Z.

With specific reference now to the figures in more detail, it isstressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and forpurposes of illustrative discussion only and are presented in the causeof providing what is believed to be the most useful and readilyunderstood description of the principles and structural concepts of theinvention. In this regard no attempt is made to show structural detailsof the apparatus in more detail than is necessary for a fundamentalunderstanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawingmaking it apparent to those skilled in the arts of luggage design andconstruction how the several forms of the invention may be embodied inpractice. Specifically, the detailed showing is not to be taken as alimitation upon the scope of the invention which is defined by theappended claims forming, along With the drawing, a part of thisspecification.

Referring to FIGURE 1 the combination of the illustrated example of theinvention is seen to include an overall attach case body which includesa lower or base member 12 and an upper or top member 14. These twocomponent portions of the case body 10 are formed by substantiallyconventional thin-walled side portions 16, front wall 18 and rear wall20 of the base member 12 and by side walls 22, front wall 24, and rearwall 26 of the upper or top member 14. The lower edge of the rear wall26 and the upper edge of the rear wall 20 are hingedly interconnected'bya set of hinges 28; and the frontal walls 18, 24 may be releasablylatched together to form an integral parallelepiped attach case body bymeans of a set of latching members 30. A pair of tension supportingfolding braces 32 may be affixed as shown between the associated sidewalls of the base and top members for purposes of holding the top memberin a substantially upright position with respect to the lower or basemember 12.

A removable briefcase 34 is disposed within the confines of the topmember 14 and is securely therewithin by a pair of flexible fastenermembers 36 which each include a pressure sensitive snap fastener havingmated parts on the flexible fastener and on the frontal surface of thebriefcase 34.

A beverage storage and carrying cabinet unit 38 is shown disposed withinthe base member 12 and includes a rear desk top work-surface 40, sidewalls 42, and top wall 44. The desk top work surface of this example ofthe invention is shown in a configuration as used typically for workwhile one is travelling as by airplane, train, bus, or the like. As maybe seen, books, documents, and other working materials may be supportedupon the rigid and substantial surface while having readily accessiblethe storage space of the briefcase 34.

Referring to FIGURE 2, the structure of FIGURE 1 is shown in enlargeddetail with the cabinet unit 38 pivoted 90 degrees into an uprightposition with respect to the base member 12 of the case body 10. It maybe noted that the structure of FIGURE 2 differs slightly from that ofFIGURE 1 in that a tension supporting brace member 46 is shown affixedremovably between associated ones of the sidewalls 42 of the cabinetunit 38 and the sidewalls 22 of the case top member 14. The members 46may be utilized, as desired, to draw automatically, the cabinet unit 38into its disposition shown whenever the top member 14 is opened. In thisview again the briefcase 34 is shown emplaced removably within theconfines of the top member 14 with the fastener members 36 snapped inplace.

The beverage storage and cabinet carrying unit 38 is seen in FIGURE 2 toinclude in addition to its rear, desk top work surface 40 and itssidewalls 42 and its top wall 44, a compartmentizing means including aplurality of dividers 48 between adjacent pairs of which may beemplaced, as shown, conventional Vs-quart beverage bottles.

In addition, the compartments formed may be utilized for carryingaccessories such as serving glasses 5t} and thermos type containers forthe storage and dispensing of ice or pre-mixed cooled drinks, thecabinet unit 38 also includes a frontal closure panel 52 which includesa lower portion 54 which is rigidly affixed to the remainder of thecabinet unit, and an upper panel portion 56 which is hingedly afiixedthereto by a set of hinges indicated at 58. It may be noted that thedividers 48 and the lower closure panel portion 54, in cooperation withthe remainder of the cabinet unit 38, form very stable securing wellsfor holding the bottles and acessories therewithin as shown.

The height of the lower portion 54 of the frontal closure panel 52 isapproximately equal to the height of the front wall 18 of the basemember 12 so that when the panel portion 56 is in its folded downwardlyand forwardly disposition, it is supported by the hinges 58 and the topedge of the front wall 18 thusly to form a stable and rigid mixing andserving shelf. It may be noted that in this configuration the spacewithin the base member 12, forwardly of the cabinet unit 38 and belowthe panel portion 56 provides a convenient storage space for additionalbar accessories such as stirring utensils, used glasses, wiping cloths,serving napkins and the like. When the upper panel portion 56 is in itsenclosed position it may be secured by a pair of flexible snap fasteningmembers 60 which are affixed to the side walls 42 of the cabinet unit38.

The pivotal means which secures the cabinet unit 38 within the basemember 12 in either a flat disposition as shown in FIGURE 1 or in anupright position as shown in FIGURE 2, comprises in this example a shortmetal strap 64 pivotally affixed to the sidewall 16 of the base member12 by means of a snap fastener 66 and to the associated side wall 42 ofthe cabinet unit 38 by a similar snap fastener '68. The snap fasteners,one only shown in the figure, th'usly permits the indicated pivotalrriotion while at the same time securing, as desired, the cabinet unit38 within the attach case body 10. In this example the metal strap 64-is removable by operation of the pressure sensitive snap fasteners 66,and 68 so that as indicated in FIGURE 3 the cabinet unit 38 may be as anintegral unit removed from the attach case body 10, either for purposesof providing separate storage or to provide additional carrying spacefor other materials within the attach case body 10.

With further reference to FIGURE 3 the cabinet unit 38 is seen toinclude the metal straps 64, one only shown in this figure, the dividers48, and the closure panel 52, the latter including the lower portion 54and the upper panel portion 56 which is hingedly aflixed to the lowerportion by the hinges 58 and removably snap fastened to the side walls42 of the cabinet unit by the fastener members 60.

Referring to FIGURE 4 the attach case body 10 and its component parts,base member 12 and top member 14 hingedly affixed together along acommon rear edge by the hinges 28, is shown separately form the othercomponent elements of the combination of this example of the presentinvention; and its usefulness and utility as a substantiallyconventional attach case is apparent.

With further reference to FIGURE 4 and with first reference to FIGURE 5the briefcase 34 is shown removed from its flexible fastener members 36to provide still further carrying and storage space within the attachcase body 10 as well as to illustrate the utility of the removablebriefcase 34 as a separable and independent unit when desired.

There have thus been disclosed and described a number of structuralaspects of an example of a portable bar-work desk top-attach case whichachieve the objects and exhibits the advantages discussed hereinabove.

What is claimed is:

1. Portable bar-attach case comprising:

attach case body including a substantially thin-walled base member and asubstantially thin-walled case top member hingedly afiixed thereto andincluding latch means for releasably closing together, along a commonperimeter, said base and top members in an integral attach case bodyconfiguration,

said base member having side and front Walls having a substantiallycommon predetermined height;

combination bottle storage and beverage serving unit having side Wallsand being of the character to be houseable and carryable totally withinsaid integral case body,

said unit including compartmentizing means and a frontal substantiallyrigid closure and serving panel member extending thereover and beingpivotally affixed thereto, for holding removably a plurality of beveragebottles therewithin; pivotal fastener means carried by said side Wallsof said base member and of said unit for removably securing said unitwithin said base member,

said pivotal fastener means being of the character permitting said unitto lie fiat Within said case body when the latter is closed and to standat substantially right angles thereto when the latter is opened.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in Which said storage and servingunit comprises a lower panel portion which is atfixed across the frontalbottom of said unit and which has a width approximately equal to that ofsaid side walls of said base member, said frontal member being pivotallyaffixed to said lower panel portion, and saidfrontal member extendingacross said bottle compartmentizing means for holding said bottlestherewithin, said frontal member having a width such that it extends,when open and folded forwardly, substantially horizontally over the topedge of said front wall of said base member whereby said frontal memberis supported from its connection with said lower panel portion and bythe top edge of said front wall, said frontal member forming, when open,a substantially level serving surface.

3. The invention according to claim 2 in which said storage and servingunit includes a rigid back panel member which forms a desk top worksurface when said case body is open, said frontal member is closed, andsaid unit is disposed to lie flatly within said base member.

4. The invention according to claim 2 which further includes a briefcasedisposed Within said case top member and detachable fastener meanscarried by said top member for removably securing said briefcasetherewithin.

5. The invention according to claim 2 which further includes at leastone tension supporting member removably secured to one of said sidewallsof said storage and serving unit and to said case top member for causingthe pivoting about said pivotal fastener means, of said storage andserving unit to its upright position with respect to said base memberwhen said top member is in its open disposition.

6. The invention according to claim 3 which further includes fastenermeans carried by said storage and serving unit for releasably securingsaid frontal member closed thereagainst.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,966,351 7/1934 Lewis. 2,775,34212/1956 Smith 312276 X 2,782,890 2/1957 Powell et al l-51 2,937,7285/1960 Kofiler -51 3,136,398 6/1964 Platt 190-51 3,263,779 8/1966 Bialer19051 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. DONALD F. NORTON, Examiner.

1. PORTABLE BAR-ATTACHE CASE COMPRISING: ATTACHE CASE BODY INCLUDING ASUBSTANTIALLY THIN-WALLED BASE MEMBER AND A SUBSTANTIALLY THIN-WALLEDCASE TOP MEMBER HINGEDLY AFFIXED THERETO AND INCLUDING LATCH MEANS FORRELEASABLY CLOSING TOGETHER, ALONG A COMMON PERIMETER, SAID BASE AND TOPMEMBERS IN AN INTEGRAL ATTACHE CASE BODY CONFIGURATION, SAID BASE MEMBERHAVING SIDE AND FRONT WALLS HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY COMMON PREDETERMINEDHEIGHT; COMBINATION BOTTLE STORAGE AND BEVERAGE SERVING UNIT HAVING SIDEWALLS AND BEING OF THE CHARACTER TO BE HOUSEABLE AND CARRYABLE TOTALLYWITHIN SAID INTEGRAL CASE BODY, SAID UNIT INCLUDING COMPARTMENTIZINGMEANS AND A FRONTAL SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID CLOSURE AND SERVING PANEL MEMBEREXTENDING THEREOVER AND BEING PIVOTALLY AFFIXED THERETO, FOR HOLDINGREMOVABLY A PLURALITY OF BEVERAGE BOTTLES THEREWITHIN; PIVOTAL FASTENERMEANS CARRIED BY SAID SIDE WALLS OF SAID BASE MEMBER AND OF SAID UNITFOR REMOVABLY SECURING SAID UNIT WITHIN SAID BASE MEMBER, SAID PIVOTALFASTENER MEANS BEING OF THE CHARACTER PERMITTING SAID UNIT TO LIE FLATWITHIN SAID CASE BODY WHEN THE LATTER IS CLOSED AND TO STAND ATSUBSTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLES THERETO WHEN THE LATTER IS OPENED.